“A person might be an expert in any field of knowledge or a master of many material skills and accomplishments, but without inner cleanliness his brain is a desert waste^1-2.”…Sri Sathya Sai Baba

1.      Human body is ingenious!^3-5

The human body is so amazingly designed that it can cleanse itself of day to day waste created in the body, through the liver and kidneys that work like detox horses and through the skin which eliminates toxins through sweat. Lymphatic system that maintains the immunity of the body works like a street cleaner, balances the body fluids, and defends against infections. It is supported by circulatory, digestive, and respiratory systems to keep the body clean and fresh, despite adverse external conditions. The body’s self-regulating control system works quietly, usually without any awareness or thought on our part.

2. How does toxicity manifest in the body?⁵

The wonderful system of the body may get upset and start accumulating toxins through physical, chemical, or biological agents when the stress on the body, due to its intensity and/or duration, becomes too much for it to handle. Toxicity is a term used to convey that the body has been poisoned. It normally starts as a biochemical change leading to cellular and then physiological changes in the body.

General indicators^6-8 are consistent fatigue, stubborn weight gain, bad breath, heavy white coating on the tongue, foul body odour, constipation, indigestion, excessive gas, and fetid stool, body aches, sensitivity to smell and chronic sinus problems and headaches, skin reactions, need for long hours of sleep etc. These could be acute or chronic. One may become prone to infections and attract life-wrecking chronic diseases, leading to coma and even death. Though toxic effects are normally said to be reversible, recovery may take a long time.

 3. Is there need to detoxify?^7-16

In medical terminology, there is no term called detoxification except in the context of treatment of alcohol/life-threatening-drug addiction; this is now referred to as withdrawal management. There is also the view that the body is essentially a self-cleaning machine and does not need any specific detox process. One only needs to limit processed, high fat, and sugary foods, and replace them with more whole foods like fruits and vegetables. According to medical experts, if there is build-up of toxins that the body cannot excrete through its organs and systems, it would be a serious condition needing immediate medical intervention.

On the contrary, dedicated health professionals and experts in other systems of medicine like Ayurveda, which is a 5000-year-old “science of life and longevity”, are clear that the role of toxins and need for detoxification have been ignored for long by modern medicine^12-16. The idea is slowly gaining ground among medical practitioners that chemicals are polluting our bodies and attention and action are needed⁷.

Some medical experts have started studying Ayurveda and are effectively combining them with modern medicine to prevent accumulation of toxins¹³.

Sources of external toxins: Our body absorbs toxins from the environment and the diet through our five senses. The body may tend to accumulate what it receives in the form of fumes and smoke from cigarettes, vehicles, and industry; heavy metals and pollutants through drinking water, and pesticides and chemicals from fruits, vegetables, and other produce. Personal health care products having chemicals are a potential source of toxins too^12,14-16.

Even unborn babies may not escape the net of toxic pollution. A research study in 2004 found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cord blood from babies born in US hospitals. This study is a revelation that pollutants can bypass even the placenta (in mother’s womb) that is believed to be a shield for the cord blood and the developing baby^16-17. It is clear that we are not able to avoid toxins, so we need to know how to tackle them.

We may think of ourselves as healthy. If we do not feel vibrant enough or struggle to find energy to go through the normal day-to-day activities, it is a wake-up call to look into our life style! We may be creating toxins in our body through our habits! For instance the physiological systems may get clogged due to an overload of dairy, processed, or fatty food that one is used to relishing, as the body may not be either assimilating or eliminating it¹⁸.  

Toxins can be created internally:  Stress over a long period of time may become chronic/toxic and assault our body and brains¹⁹. Children who experience toxic stress may face long-term adverse health effects that may manifest in adulthood²⁰.   Our thoughts, if left unchecked, may become a cause for building up of toxins, eventually leading to disease. The six vices of desire, anger, pride, greed, illusion, and jealousy can disturb the equanimity within and lower our immunity, making us susceptible to absorbing toxins²¹.

5. Adopt simple ways to reduce and eliminate toxins^22-35

Yoga^22-24 can be a means to make life enjoyable by preventing the body from working overtime to handle invasive toxins as well as those produced from within. It involves following some basic interconnected guiding principles of truth, contentment, nonviolence, self-study, and dedication, as well as asanas and pranayam (technique to understand various dimensions of body and breath). Yogic practices enhance blood circulation and lung capacity and stimulate and strengthen the most vital organ ‘liver’, primarily responsible for detoxification. One may adopt a yogic life style under the guidance of an expert or established yoga school.

Sai Vibrionics remedies blessed by Sri Sathya Sai Baba, contain only vibrations and work at the subtler realms of the body and mind, cleanse the system by flushing out toxins smoothly, and build up both immunity and equanimity. Practitioners, refer to ‘108 Common Combos’ and  ‘Vibrionics 2016’ for the purpose.  

Ayurveda^12,25-26: If one opts to go in for a detoxification process, like colon cleansing or body cleansing, one should choose the right system and institution after ascertaining its authenticity and efficacy. There are established methods in ayurveda to minimize the toxins that come in, maximize the toxins that go out, and thereby prevent accumulation of toxins. Change of season, especially spring and fall, are considered important times of the year to detoxify the body and the mind. Some of the simple detox methods at home include cleaning the tongue using a tongue scraper, dry skin brushing, massaging, sauna etc. Half a teaspoon of triphala (an Indian herbal formulation of three native fruits) in a cup of hot water before going to bed helps to remove toxins from the digestive system.

Simple home remedies¹³ in the form of tea and soups can work wonders to detoxify the body. Some examples are barley water, fennel tea, sorghum/tapioca/rice soup, and broccoli, cabbage and onion soup with cloves of garlic. Detox drinks²⁷ and recipes can be made at home combining two or more of the following nature’s gifts depending on their benefits and suiting one’s needs: water melon, cucumber, lemon, lime, grape fruit, raspberries, strawberries, mint, ginger, rosemary, dandelion, apple cider vinegar, and aloe vera gel.

Oil Pulling^28-29 is considered as good detoxifying technique in ayurveda, and for dental hygiene and to prevent infections in the body as each section of the tongue is connected to a different organ. One needs to take a spoonful of pure coconut/sesame oil and swish it around in the mouth for about 20 minutes till it becomes white and watery. Then it should be carefully spit out and the mouth should be thoroughly rinsed followed by regular brushing and cleaning of teeth as one would normally do. It should be ideally done early in the morning on empty stomach.

Some simple strategies to prevent and reduce accumulation of toxins^30-35: 

•         Have a healthy natural diet comprising locally grown fruits and vegetables and stop snacking or eating canned or denatured or genetically modified food of any kind; 

•         fast once a week or so with understanding; ayurveda can be adopted for detoxification as described earlier;

•         ensure proper hydration; 

•         avoid use of plastic bottles;

•         choose wisely skin care products and household cleaners;

•         live consciously to minimise stress levels and thus prevent emotional toxins from building up;

•         have adequate rest and sleep on time^30-32.

Sleep helps to detox our brain. Recent research shows that there is a special mechanism in the body like the lymphatic system that removes wastes from the brain and it is mainly active during sleep. Sleeping on our side is the best way to stimulate this process^33-35.

6. We can be toxin free²¹

Our health is very much in our hands. Our body is surrounded with divine vibrations of light. If we recognize the presence within ourselves of “Nature” and the “Divine” and ourselves in them, no toxins can invade us and no disease can arise as God is the creator of the five elements of “Nature” and the cells in the human body have limitless potentialities.

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